LONG BEACH >> Mark Hansel was sitting on a Bixby Park bench nodding off in the early-morning hours when he felt a strange sensation on his feet.

“I looked over and noticed it was a coyote,” said the man who said he’s been homeless for a few months and had stopped at the park about 2 a.m. Wednesday to try to figure out where he was going to stay.

“He bit my socks, thank goodness it wasn’t my toes,” he said. “Then he backed off but came back toward me.”

Hansel kicked and hooted at the animal until the coyote retreated and disappeared into a row of nearby apartment buildings.

“I know they have been spotted around the city and was worried because people walk their babies and their little dogs in this park when it’s dark, and I’d hate to find out a coyote hurt a baby,” said Hansel.

While there has been an increase in the number of coyote sightings in the city, especially near the area where Hansel said he was charged by the animal, Ted Stevens, manager of Long Beach Animal Care Services, said it’s unusual for a coyote to become aggressive toward people.

“It’s very rare and unusual for that to happen, but if a coyote did attack and bite him we need to be concerned about the possibility of disease, maybe rabies,” Stevens said, adding he had not heard of any coyote attacks on a person in the city.

Hansel said he didn’t report the alleged attack, stating he wasn’t bitten or hurt by the animal.

“I was just really terrified,” Hansel said.

The uptick in sightings is typical for this time of year, said Stevens, and with the recent high temperatures, many coyotes have become more bold as they search for water and food.

“This is why it’s important for people to haze coyotes whenever they see them,” Stevens said. “Coyotes are very smart and very adaptable.”

If people do not discourage coyotes from venturing onto property or eating from outdoor food dishes, Stevens said coyotes quickly lose their fear of humans.

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“If you see a coyote on your lawn, make a noise, scare it off,” Stevens said. “That way they are less likely to come around that area.”

But Stevens said it isn’t just coyotes who are venturing out more often. There has also been an increase in the number of raccoon and opossum sightings in the city.

Coyotes are so prolific and able to adapt that they are found in all 50 states except Hawaii, Stevens said.

Stevens advises residents keeping pets on a short leash and nearby at all times. The same advice applies for parents walking with small children. Air horns and pepper spray are tools walkers should keep with them as well.

He urges anyone who sees a coyote acting aggressively to immediately call 9-1-1.

“People need to realize they are here and we have to learn how to deal with these animals,” Stevens said.

For more information on what to do if confronted by a coyote visit www.longbeach.gov/acs.